Regulation

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned governments, regulators, and meteorologists on Monday to safeguard radio frequency spectrum essential for weather forecasts, early warnings, climate monitoring and water management.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has launched what it calls the Digital Connectivity Rating (DCR) platform, an integrated digital platform that establishes a transparent and standardised framework for assessing the digital connectivity readiness of properties.

Thailand launched a new national strategy on Thursday to boost its semiconductor sector – which currently focuses mainly on assembly and packaging – into a fully integrated domestic chipset ecosystem by 2050.

A meeting of regional intergovernmental organisation the East African Community (EAC), along with East African trade bloc the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and Eastern African countries implementing World Bank-supported digital transformation programmes has convened in Nairobi.

The GSMA and the Partnership for Digital Access in Africa (PDAA) launched a new roadmap on Monday that seeks to narrow Africa’s mobile internet usage gap and connect 1 billion people by 2030.

Mozambique’s communications regulatory authority INCM says it is responding to concerns expressed by consumers on social media and elsewhere regarding the rapid exhaustion of mobile data packages.

Zambia’s Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has cancelled the operator licence of Beeline, which operated under the Z-Mobile brand, for failing to meet several regulatory obligations.

A three-judge High Court bench in Kenya has ordered that a 15% Kenyan government stake transferred to Vodacom should revert to the State after ruling that the transaction was unconstitutional.

Vietnam is set to auction 900MHz spectrum freed up by the country's 2G shutdown, giving mobile operators access to additional low-frequency capacity for expanding 4G and 5G networks.

Papua New Guinea’s telecoms regulator announced on Friday that it’s ready to issue 5G spectrum licences in the 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands to "qualified" mobile operators.

Thailand reportedly suspended construction of 49 data centres on Friday over concerns of their impact on local communities, making it the second Southeast Asian country after Malaysia to rethink its data centre investment strategy in recent weeks.

The Philippines' telecoms sector is set to invest more than US$2.2 billion in 2026, with the country's largest operators continuing to expand network infrastructure amid growing demand for digital services.

In a move that will benefit mobile operators – and potentially save them money – the Indian government has announced that it will increase the electromagnetic field (EMF) limits for mobile networks to global standards, allowing telecom operators to cover larger areas with fewer towers.

Malaysia is reportedly planning to toughen oversight of e-commerce platforms operating in the country, to include requiring them to be registered with the government.

MTN Group has reportedly secured conditional approval from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for its proposed acquisition of the remaining stake in tower company IHS Holding Limited.

The Bangladesh government’s Posts and Telecommunications Division has reportedly blocked the deployment of two subsea cable vessels into Bangladesh's territorial waters to install the privately-owned Bangladesh Private Cable System (BPCS).

The Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) has announced the award of radio spectrum frequency blocks to operators Viettel and Claro Dominicana after a recent public tender.

Interesting news for countries trying to grow their internet domains comes from Kenya, where recent data has shown the .ke domain growing four times faster than the global average. But why is this?

Around 80% of Malawians live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, highlighting a major usage gap that could be worth MWK 1.1 trillion (US$637 million) to the economy by 2030, according to the GSMA.

Nigeria has announced what it calls a National Digital Cloud Policy aimed at attracting US$750 million in private investment within 24 months and positioning Nigeria as a major cloud computing and data-hosting hub for West Africa and the wider African market.

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) has announced Africa’s first trial of mobile services using the 6GHz band.

Colombia's Ministry of ICT (MinTIC) has cancelled a tender for a major fibre optic project in the Amazon rainforest, citing financial uncertainty and potential technical, environmental and coverage risks.

UAE regulator the TDRA has renewed the licences of both of the country’s telecom operators – e& and du – for another 20 years.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Universal Service Development Fund (FDSU) has outlined a 10-year strategy to expand connectivity in underserved areas, built around a collaborative infrastructure model bringing together TowerCos, mobile operators, government and the telecom regulator.

Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) kicked off legal proceedings on Monday to shut down the network of Korek Telecom, who is fighting the move, accusing the CMC of overstepping its authority.

American Tower Corporation (ATC) Uganda has contributed UGX20.9 billion (US$5.7 million) to Uganda's Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF), supporting government efforts to expand connectivity and digital inclusion in underserved communities.

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) has taken another step towards the rollout of 5G services by holding a pre-application briefing for prospective bidders interested in acquiring spectrum licences in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz mid-band frequencies.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies and Innovation (MINICT) says it has received approval from the government for its plan to shut down 2G and 3G services over the next two years.

The Pakistani government has reportedly halted plans to rebrand the merged Ufone-Telenor Pakistan business as "e&" while it reviews the legal authority behind the proposed name change.

Senior figures from industry association the GSMA, and representatives of the governments of Nigeria, Togo, Kenya, Namibia and Benin have announced ATLAS Umoja AI – a new pan-African initiative to strengthen collaboration on African language AI.

Bangladesh's telecommunications regulator has fined the country's four mobile operators a combined BDT86.8 million (US$710,000) after identifying thousands of SIM cards allegedly being used for illegal international call termination via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Zambia has apparently begun enforcing its Cyber Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025. The government has warned that the unauthorised recording, publication or distribution of private communications could result in criminal penalties.